Two days in Che: A retrospective

(Paul Kaufman flew in from Massachusetts to taste the fury of the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend July 30 and 31. Here are Paul’s impressions, accompanied by photos from Sean McMullen and Kymri Wilt.)

After an early-morning cross-country flight, I was somewhat worse for wear by the time 9pm rolled around on Friday, July 30, but I didn’t want to miss this!

It had probably been around 20 years since I had been down Adams Avenue. Normal Heights is heavily transformed from the residential neighborhood I remembered, with many new restaurants and shops. The center of the action is Lestat’s gallery, coffee shop and nightclub. A big marquee announces the Che Underground show! In addition to the musicians themselves, lots of blog stars are there: Kristen Tobiason; Chris Mathis; and of course tonight’s MC, Lou Damian.

On one side of the venue are Dave Doyle’s and Sean McMullen’s rock-‘n’-roll photographs to set the mood. In the nightclub section, we’re due for some acoustic treats. The show started off with Tom Ward, of local renown as a Nashville Rambler. With his beautiful singing voice and a 12-string guitar, he crooned some of my favorite old songs — I especially enjoyed his take on the too-often overlooked “Thoughts and Words” from the Byrds’ “Younger than Yesterday” LP. Bart Mendoza of Manual Scan and Shambles fame partnered with Wendy Bailey for a few introspective acoustic numbers, whetting the appetites for the next night’s show.

Then came the Comeuppance, the duo of David Fleminger on guitar and Heather Vorwerck on cello, performing their lovely intertwined, introspective music and words. A special treat this evening was their encore with Lou Damian’s daughter, performing “Sunday Morning,” bringing a dramatic sweetness to this classic so that everyone could hear it with new ears.

Next up was Jeffery Luck Lucas, performing with a great backing band that propelled his haunting, transcendent new songs from “The Lion’s Jaw” with backing vocals — especially compelling was the debut performance of “Salvation.”

A special electric treat at the end of the show was the DaveFest Four, featuring Dave Rinck (vocals, guitar); Dave Fleminger (guitar, vocals); Dave Doyle (bass); and Dave Klowden (drums), performing all your favorite late-’70s punk-rock hits. The showstoppers for me were the resurrection of the Dead Kennedys’ “Police Truck” and the Johnny Cash-inspired homage to San Diego’s Injections’ anthem “Prison Walls.” For added bonus, there are several great cameos, especially the sax stylings of our host Lou Damian. By this point, I haven’t slept in about 22 hours, so you’ll have to find another source for after-party stories.

The next night was at Bar Pink on 30th, just a few doors down from the legendary International Blend club. Apart from being a very cool bar, the stopwatch-free schedule let each of the three bands play full rockin’ sets, with DJ P Man (Paul Howland) filling in custom-mixed beats to keep the crowd going between live acts.

The first band was The Answers, with the classic “early” lineup: Dave Fleminger (guitar and vocals); Tony Suarez (bass); and Dave Anderson (drums). I’m an unabashed fan, and I’m just thrilled to hear some of my favorite music ever brought to the live stage again. “Nowhere” is as chillingly beautiful as it when I first heard it at Headquarters, gulp, 27 years ago.

Next up, Wendy Bailey and Bart Mendoza go electric with a fast-paced set that turns what is now a packed house into a dancing frenzy.

And then comes Bombast, with Dave Rinck (vocals, guitar); Dave Fleminger (bass); Dave Ellison (guitar); Kinch Degrate (keyboards); and Matt Johnson (drums). Channeling the live energy of Che favorites the Wallflowers by opening up with “Rubber Room,” they go on to explore wide territory with Love’s “Bummer in the Summer” and Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop.” Again, if I hadn’t been up half the night consoling a crying, time-zone shifted infant, I might have been able to hang out more, but that’s it for me. But I’m grateful I got to see once again how broad and talented San Diego’s musical roots are. I miss it like a good taco.

— Paul Kaufman

More by Paul Kaufman:

• Father’s Day: Past, present and future
• Songs for the DIYper set
• Songs that were separated at birth?
• Seen any good shows lately?
• ‘Sesame Street’: Forty years ago today …
• Beatles: Rock Band … The missing buttons
• Nostradamus I’m Not Part 3: Punk rock sweeps America!
• Nostradamus I’m Not Part 2: The Cold War
• Nostradamus I’m Not Part 1: The Final Frontier
• Sucking in the ’60s
• London Calling
• El sabor de San Diego